After my routine jog for a kilometer I went to the center play area of the park, like every day, for those twenty pushups. It had been nearly four months or so since I had the same exercise regime. Neither more, nor less. I had tried a few times to do a little more than that. After all improvement is the basic essence of any work out, isn’t it? I had always failed miserably. Running out of breath in just next few meters after my standard one kilometer. And after this I actually never tried to increase the number of pushups and neither the intensity of other exercises. Since I was building a good body anyhow, I dint feel the need to strain myself further. So basically, today’s jog seemed nothing special, just like other days. One kilometer and 20 pushups plus some exercise. I wasn’t thrilled. My face had the expression of the concrete track below. Flat and non-lively. Well I do look that way when I am shook out of my dreams. But In all this “inactive” state of the world, there was something that was going to catch my attention and detonate a new thought.
I was pushing the ground below while I puffed number 17… damn just three more 18… fu*k fu*k 19… again……..20… I was just about to get up when I heard a dash.
Like steel hit the road, something I hear on Delhi roads when drunken guys play go kart. Still inclined, I tilted my head on my left to see the issue. A little guy learning to skate had had a nasty fall. Worst part was that he had fallen backwards. It is always advisable to make a front fall when you lose control. A back fall hurts really badly. It may prove to be fatal at times. Wait a minute!! How do I know all this? Well it is because I am a skater as well. Back when I was in Visakhapatnam, some 2-3 years ago. In fact even before that, when I was 10 or 11 maybe. I was the star of our local skating rink. Though now, I was worried about that kid. I was still on my “arms and legs” while I wished he just got up. He not getting up would mean worse. Rear of the skull is weaker than the fore part. And during a back fall generally people land on the head. But to “our” great luck, he got up, looked at his mates who were all laughing, and started laughing himself too. Even I smiled seeing this. God knows how many falls I had laughed away this way. At times, holding less knowledge keeps you happy. It makes a little careless though, but still you stay a lot happier. Like that black boy on rollers. He got up quickly. Rubbed his head while he laughed. And started again. The strain of that fall, which actually made me loose a breath, couldn’t stop him from giving up. “Childness” is the biggest driving force I guess. A strain of twenty pushups could drain me but a fall couldn’t stop him. Genuinely speaking, he wasn’t a good skater. He had no safety equipment. Cheap rollers and bad technique. No sporting gear, just ordinary t-shirt. I had my adidas on, I knew what I was doing and had read everything about an exercise regime. Still he continued while I gave up. I lacked the child-like driving force. The force that keeps you going towards improvement. To learn more. To reveal more “secrets” and the motivation to keep pushing harder. I lacked all of that. I was feeling kind of ashamed as I saw that black boy on rollers skate away. He was poor, not much educated as well. Didn’t have nice shoes, neither a jogger’s kit. But he taught me something. Unknowingly, not by uttering a single word. No preaching or whatever. He just “showed” me a way to never give up. All this happened in a jiffy, like 5 seconds and I counted 21, 22, 23…
PS:
*1 : I did 40 pushups today.
*2 : When I think of that black boy on rollers now, I feel he had all qualities of a leader. Like confidence, humor, consistency, blah blah blah…
*1 : I did 40 pushups today.
*2 : When I think of that black boy on rollers now, I feel he had all qualities of a leader. Like confidence, humor, consistency, blah blah blah…
Looks like we all are born leaders. Only if we think about it this way. We can do whatever we set our mind to. Never give up those skates mate. Push harder. God bless the reader. J
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